Links for today’s readings:
Jun 19 Read: Isaiah 16 Listen: (2:32) Read: Acts 5 Listen: (6:49)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Jun 20 Read: Isaiah 17-18 Listen: (3:44) Read: Acts 6 Listen: (2:35)
Jun 21 Read: Isaiah 19-20 Listen: (4:49) Read: Acts 7 Listen: (8:49)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 16.1-5
1 Send lambs as tribute
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,
so are the women of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter from the destroyer.”
The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
Reflection: Enemy Love Starts With Outsiders
By John Tillman
Moab was Israel’s enemy. Isaiah prophesied the fall of Moab and portrayed their refugees as vulnerable birds shaken from the nest.
For centuries, when Israel was in distress or fleeing danger, Moab mistreated them. They mocked, robbed, enslaved, or killed them.
When Israel came out of slavery in Egypt, Moab opposed them, attempted to curse them (Numbers 23.7), and seduced them to worship their god Chemosh (Numbers 25.1-2), which became a recurring temptation Israel dealt with until the exile (2 Kings 23.13-14). Moab conquered and ruled harshly (Judges 3.13-15). They raided Israel and joined other armies to attack them. When others conquered Israel, Moab mocked and mistreated the survivors and refugees.
Yet, Isaiah’s prophetic poem commands Israel not to treat Moab’s refugees that way. Isaiah commanded them to help the refugees. Instead of mocking them, welcome them. Instead of robbing them, aid them. Instead of enslaving them or turning them over to be killed, hide them and shelter them from the oppressor.
Remember, these are not sympathetic refugees. These are historically violent, treacherous, idol-worshiping foreigners who hated and mistreated God’s people. Still, God commanded Israel to welcome and protect them. No excuses. Israel must do unto Moab what Israel would have them do unto them (Luke 6.31).
Isaiah tied this treatment to the coming of a faithful ruler on a throne of love who would bring justice, and enact righteousness. Jesus is this ruler. He sits on a throne of love and does not withhold love from his enemies. He calls us to emulate him. Can we? Will we?
We naturally react with celebration when enemies suffer, and sometimes celebrating the fall of evil is good. But there are also moments when we are called, even commanded, to something else—enemy love.
Enemy love reflects the glory of Jesus in a way that nothing else does. It is unlike the anemic versions of showing kindness to enemies found in other belief systems. They are pragmatic and calculating, seeking selfish returns. There’s no pragmatism in the gospel. It is extravagant love that the pragmatic world calls foolish.
Enemy love’s little brother is love for the outsider. We’ll never graduate to loving true enemies if we can’t love those who are just different. The ones who worship different gods. The ones people claim are dangerous or violent. Stretch your heart to display the glory of Jesus through enemy love. Start loving the outsider and build up from there.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
God is a righteous judge; God sits in judgment every day. — Psalm 7.12
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Grief for the Guilty
You can look at tragedies…and still your heart rends in grief…Because we see the goodness God created in each person
Read more: The Church of Acts
Acts is not a start-up handbook. But there’s a clue in Luke’s title—Acts. They will know we are Christians by our love. By our actions.
